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Flashback: The Great Blizzard of 1899
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 29, 2010
Modified Dec 29, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 29, 2010
Modified Dec 29, 2010
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Could we learn something from the blizzard survivors of 1899? Or at least, images of them walking through a seemingly functional city after getting at least 16 inches of snow? It can be done, people! Mayor! MTA! Just look, their snow removal process seemed to clear the streets and sidewalks—albeit, the job was likely tedious (it mostly consisted of men shoveling snow into a horse drawn cart). And their public transportation was somehow magically up and running! Click through to see how New Yorkers handled the snow back then.
A little history: the Great Blizzard of 1899 (which started on February 11th of that year) mostly affected the southern United States, but even in NYC it was a powerful storm. Central Park recorded 16 inches, which at the time was its third-biggest snowfall, and surrounding areas recorded 2-3 feet!
One of the oldest New York movies was made during that time, called In the Grip of the Blizzard—which according to this blog was an early work of Dziga Vertov... who according to Roger Ebert, was the inspiration for this Blizzard of 2010 short. We're searching for video of the 1899 film, and will update if we find it...
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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